Various valve arrangements have been hithertofore devised to distribute gases from an inlet port to two or more outlet ports. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,664,910 to Boyd et al teaches the use of a flow distributor valve for distribution of fuel in a gas turbine engine. The valve used in said device employs a piston movable within a cylinder to cause opening and closing of the valve. Said valve does not, however, utilize an resilient surface to simultaneously tightly seal off the ports.
Another type of valve is disclosed in USSR Pat. No. 761752, which discloses a form of relief valve. Said valve is capable of opening when the pressure inside a closed system exceeds a predetermined amount. The valve shown therein utilizes a piston, provided with resilient means, movable within a cylinder, to close the valve, but said piston is not sealed around its periphery nor is it provided with any means normally urging the valve into an open position nor any controllable way to close the valve when desired, except upon lowering of the pressure within the closed system.
There has remained, a need for a valve capable of simultaneously closing a multiplicity of ports rapidly and tightly enough to assure the absence of any leakage through the valve. The principle object of the present invention is to provide a valve which fills said need.